In January 2015 Pat was over in the Mercy Hospital and he had gone to theatre where Mr Tom Murphy was taking care of him, I sat in the office of the Mercy Fundraising to discuss with Deirdre my plans to fundraise for cancer research in the hospital and to run 12 marathons in 8 months, our first meeting of many and little did I know that Deirdre was a Kerry woman and now it has come to an end, To say that we are overwhelmed by the support that we have received from start to finish has been unbelievable, the last 8 months have definitely been a roller coaster.
12 MARATHONS IN 8 MONTHS
March - Tralee - thank you to Mikey for joining me on marathon number 1.
April - Connemara - I took on the challenge on my own.
May - Limerick - thank you to Bernie, Tina, Michelle and Anna who ran as a a relay and were great support from start to finish, Elaine ran the 10km to support us.
June - Cork - 5 relay teams consisting of my family and friends - what an amazing experience each time I passed a relay changeover they were there to cheer me on.
June - Waterford - Thank you to Elaine who joined me for this one.
July - Killarney - a fabulous marathon, one that I started on my own but was joined by Ultan who likes to talk when he is running (he actually never stops talking)!!!!!!!!!!!
August - Donegal - 4 marathons in 4 days - the ultimate challenge - I had never even done a back2back marathon so taking on this challenge was definitely a scary experience - I met so many fabulous people over the 4 days, Barry who helped me to get to the finish line on day 4, Karen who is a truly special person, Derek who is great to motivate and Ken who runs marathon after marathon and kept me going from day 1 - day 4 and Ger who ran day 3. A special thank you to Margaret Lafferty who kindly gave us all free accommodation for the quadrathon.
September - Dingle - I was joined by Mr Tom Murphy, Noel, Tina and Anna. Having only ran the quadrathon in Donegal 3 weeks earlier I was really glad to finish this one.
Dublin - I was joined by Noel, Mark and Pat. This was the most emotional 26.2 miles, I am so proud of Pat running his first marathon, 13 months cancer free....., this marathon was also for VERY special friends Joe and Breda, 26.2 miles for Joe who is now facing his own difficult challenge.
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| Proud to fundraise for the Mercy.
There are so many people that I need to thank. To everyone that has been there for us from start to finish, family and friends, those of you that have donated, been at the start and finish line of marathons, to Castlegregory golf club, John and Myra of Keanes in Curraheen, Derryquay National School and everyone that has been there for Pat, Gavin, Colin and Myself since May 2014. There are two very special people that I have to mention and that is my sister Maureen and her husband Ger, they have been there to support me from marathon number 1 right through to marathon number 12 in Dublin. To all of the journalist who have covered my story but a special thank you to Donal Nolan of the Kerryman who was the first journalist to interview me and has given us wonderful coverage over the last 8 months. A special thank you to Deirdre, Micheal and all of the staff of the Mercy fundraising who have been such wonderful support to me, they have gone over and above to help me in anyway possible. Una Lynch who has kept me injury free from marathon 1 to marathon 12, the pain was definitely worth it. Ronan from Victory Fitness who worked with me on maintaining strength and endurance (anyone that wants to get fit definitely give Ronan a call)
The Doody men Pat, Gavin and Colin have been dragged from Tralee to Donegal and never once complained, the best support crew that anyone could ask for.
Even though my 12 marathon challenge has finished we have one more night of celebrations. This takes place on Saturday November 7th in Keanes of Curraheen @ 9pm. John and Myra kick started the fundraising with a night in March and have kindly organised a party to finish the challenge. There is no charge on the night, it is a thank you to each and everyone of you for being there for us. Hope to see you all there... A great night of fun and music is planned.........................................................
Total raised so far is 23,664.80 and with donations still coming in who knows what the total will be .......................
The money will be used to part-fund a research programme into the causes of Oesophageal cancer. In particular the project will produce a mapping of bacteria in the oesophagus in patients that are at various different stages of Oesophagitis. The project will be based in UCC. In our view research is the only way to increase the survival rates for those that are unfortunate enough to suffer from cancer at any stage in their lives.
For anyone that would like to donate please use http://fundraise.mercyfundraising.ie/marathonbrenda
Please share my facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/mercymarathons
For now training for me is back to Ronan in Victory Fitness and improving my football skills with my new team mates in St Pat's Mothers and Others and our very talented football coach Andrea.
Until the next challenge begins .................
HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL NOVEMBER 7TH IN KEANES BAR AND RESTAURANT
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